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Farms that were already growing hemp are seeing both demand and profits surge, while farmers who have never grown hemp before are rushing to plant it in their fields.

Blue Forest Farms used to grow hundreds of acres of kale, squash and pumpkins. But it has since switched its focus to a different cash crop: hemp.

The farm, which is located in Erie, Colorado, has dedicated 150 acres to growing hemp so far -- and it's still planting. "We're now expanding it to 1,000 acres," said McKenzie Mann, Blue Forest's production manager.

Over the past several years, the NoCo Hemp Expo in Colorado has grown into a major yearly occasion for those interested in the hemp industry.

Compared to just several hundred participants during its inaugural year in 2014, organizers of the sixth annual NoCo Hemp Expo said they expected about 10,000 people during this year’s two-day event near Denver International Airport.

And it appeared they weren’t exaggerating. The exhibition halls were packed with people jostling to learn the latest about the hemp business.

Hemp is in the midst of another record growth year in Oregon, according to Gary McAninch, the program manager for industrial hemp at the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

During a presentation to the monthly meeting of the Douglas County Livestock Association on March 19, McAninch noted that as of that day, 751 growers, 254 handlers (processors) and 22,435 acres had been registered with the state’s industrial hemp program. He added that many more registrations are expected.

In 2015, there were only 13 growers, 13 handlers and 105 acres registered.

2018 Farm Bill Provides a Path Forward for Industrial HempEven if the consumer demand for a product is there and farmers are growing the crop, the supply chain link between the farmer and the consumer needs to have capacity to process and develop the product. This will likely take some time.

The inclusion of hemp in the 2018 farm bill has many people -- both inside and outside the agriculture sector -- racing to figure out the potential market for this relatively new (well, new to the U.S., at least) agriculture product.

Hemp's proponents are growing more optimistic and vocal each year about hemp as a potential game changer for U.S. agriculture.

The United States Department of Agriculture announced its plans to promulgate regulations in fall 2019 regarding the commercial production of industrial hemp in the United States.

Under the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 -- otherwise known as the 2018 Farm Bill -- states and Indian tribes have the option to primarily regulate the production of hemp. That’s provided USDA approves their plans. But states and Indian tribes don’t need to submit plans until the agency adopts its regulations, according to USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service in a notice to industry.

Supply Chain

Image Source: Erik Fenderson Via Wikimedia Commons

USDA Clarifies that Farmers can Import Hemp Seeds from Other CountriesThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) clarified on Friday that hemp seeds can be imported into the U.S., and that the Justice Department no longer has a role in that process.​While USDA is still developing regulations for hemp cultivation under the 2018 Farm Bill, which federally legalized the crop and its derivatives, farmers can still obtain seeds in the meantime.

The agriculture legislation “removed hemp and hemp seeds from DEA authority for products containing THC levels not greater than 0.3 percent” and “DEA no longer has authority to require hemp seed permits for import purposes.”

Demand for CBD is so strong that companies are scrambling to infuse their products with it, but the CBD they’re finding isn’t all that great.

Congress legalized industrial hemp in December. With it, they also legalized hemp-derived CBD, short for cannabidiol, a cannabis compound that supposedly delivers the calming effects of marijuana without the high from THC.

December 21, 2018 - The Hemp Supply Chain Has a Rare Chance To Get Traceability Right

With so much grower data and end-to-end traceability required from the start, the supply chain will have a level of transparency, virtually from day one, that few can boast today.

The farm bill rarely makes everyone (or anyone) completely happy, but one small group of farmers is ending the year on a high note.

Hemp is now legal at the federal level, after President Trump signed the Farm Bill into law yesterday. This means hemp and its derivatives are no longer classified as a controlled substance and can legally be regulated by state and tribal governments.

Maricann, the producer and distributor of medical cannabis with offices in Ontario, Canada and Munich, Germany, says it is progressing with its first European hemp harvest.

According to a company press release, Maricann’s European nutraceutical subsidiary MariPlant has begun its inaugural harvest of around 165 hectares (about 405 acres) of hemp.

The Company planted five approved cultivars included in the European Union list of approved hemp. This harvest is also using new proprietary harvesting and drying systems, that the company says are designed to optimize its yield from industrial hemp.

July 25, 2018 - Hemp Industry groups call on California to reconsider its prohibition on CBD in food products and supplementsWhile California consumers can legally buy and consume recreational marijuana or medical cannabis, California’s government has declared that cannabidiol (CBD) products are not to be used in foods or supplements sold in the state.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), responding to what it said were “numerous inquiries from food processors and retailers who are interested in using industrial hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) oil or CBD products in food,” declared in an FAQ statement that “the use of industrial hemp as the source of CBD to be added to food products is prohibited.”

And that ban, the statement continues, will last until the FDA rules that hemp-derived CBD oil or products can be used as a food – or until California determines that CBD oil and products are safe for both animal and human consumption.

Hemp business groups are urging the state, the largest U.S. market for CBD, to reconsider its ban.

“Everyone in the industry wants to be able to sell their products there, and this FAQ is a source of great concern,” said Jonathan Miller, general counsel to the U.S. Hemp Roundtable.

July 19, 2018 - Hawaii issues its first licenses for hemp growers in the islands

Hawaii has issued licenses to three hemp growers, as part of the state’s new industrial hemp pilot program.

The licenses, granted to farmers on the islands of Kauai and Hawaii, are good for two years. Each of the farms, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser, will grow ten acres of hemp using seed imported from China.

“This pilot program is a strong and prudent step in helping to determine the viability of this crop in Hawaii,” Gov. David Ige said in a press release earlier this year. “The Department of Agriculture has conducted extensive planning and has overcome significant legal obstacles to launch this program.”

The Star Advertiser says industrial hemp growers in Hawaii are required to submit reports to the state on a variety of factors; including planting, harvesting, production costs, water usage, security measures and distribution.

South Carolina has launched its industrial hemp pilot program, the first legal planting of the crop there in decades.

The state’s agriculture department has issued permits for 20 farmers to grow industrial hemp on 20-acre parcels. The state also requires those farmers work with a research institution, and to have links to a commercial production group. 40 permits are expected to be issued next year.

“The farmers, researchers and processors who came together to launch the hemp industry in South Carolina are true visionaries,” Lucas Snyder, founder and executive director of the South Carolina Hemp Farmers Association, said in a press release.

“In just a few weeks in their fields, they have made tremendous strides and discovered critical facts about the variations in our state’s micro climates, topographies and support networks,” he added, “which will go a long way toward helping hemp realize its full potential in South Carolina.”

Snyder said hemp cultivation is also attracting a new generation of farmers in South Carolina, including those looking for crops that have stable pricing and multiple end uses.

July 3, 2018 - Minnesota: Hemp pilot program flourishing in its third year

Minnesota’s pilot program for industrial hemp is now in its third growing season. And state officials report the program has been gaining traction.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune, quoting the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, says there are 30 licensed hemp growers and five licensed processor this year, with 1,323 acres dedicated to hemp production in 2018.

That contrasts to the program’s first season in 2016, the first time that hemp had been legally grown in the state in decades, when only 38 acres of hemp were farmed throughout Minnesota.

“I think the potential for this crop is very good,” farmer Michael Erickson, who is preparing to sell his first crop of hemp grain later this month, told the newspaper. “There’s profit to be made.”

June 27, 2018 - Hemp Banking Amendment Submitted to U.S. Senate​Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has introduced a measure which would prevent federal authorities from prosecuting banks that work with hemp-related businesses.

According to Marijuana Moment’s Tom Angell the measure, submitted on June 26, would include protections for companies that grow, process and sell hemp products. It would be included in the larger Farm Bill, currently on the Senate Floor.

The Farm Bill legislation also includes provisions that, if passed, would legalize hemp on a national level.

June 25, 2018 - Maine: Industrial Hemp Production takes off​The number of farmers in Maine growing legal hemp has jumped dramatically since 2015, the year the state’s legislature approved hemp as a commercial crop.

According to the Portland Press Herald, only a quarter-acre of licensed hemp was grown in Maine in 2016. But since then interest in hemp has surged in the state’s agriculture sector.

The newspaper says the number of Maine farmers growing hemp has tripled since 2017, outpacing national crop numbers – with at least 888 acres of hemp production expected in the state this summer.

And about 80 farmers are expected to take part in Maine’s hemp production this year, compared to 31 licensed hemp growers in the state in 2017.

June 2018 - Arkansas Officials Approve Regulations for Industrial HempThe Arkansas State Plant Board (ASPB) agreed to regulations for the states’ industrial hemp pilot program during their quarterly meeting on June 21. According to OzarksFirst.com the regulations, approved by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson in May, must now go to the state legislative council for approval during its next scheduled meeting in August. Jason Martin, CEO of Arkansas-based Tree of Life Seeds, a hemp genetics and CBD company, told the website that the ability “to grow and process industrial hemp in the natural state is a game changer for Arkansas farmers who will now have a viable alternative crop that can provide increased profits at a time when farming profits are low.”

A report from Tom Angell in Forbes says the Senate Appropriations Committee is calling on the federal government’s Agricultural Research Service to put aside a half-million dollars to maintain an industrial hemp seed bank.

In a report attached to legislation regarding funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its 2019 fiscal year, the Committee said it “recognizes the increasing demand for industrial hemp for a variety of uses, and its growing importance as a crop for U.S. farmers.”

The new federally funded hemp seed stockpile will reportedly be housed at the department's Plant Genetics Research Unit in Columbia, Missouri.

Universities and colleges in Oklahoma have gotten the green light to take part in the state’s new industrial hemp program.

Higher education institutions that want to participate in the pilot program have been told to submit their applications at least a month before planting or cultivating industrial hemp crops for research and development.

“Industrial hemp has the potential to become a source of steady, recurring revenue for our state,” Oklahoma Governor Mary Falin said in April. “This pilot program will allow for careful analysis of the economic potential of industrial hemp farming in Oklahoma and of its environmental impact.”

According to NewsOK.com, individuals cannot get a license, but they are able to contract with the state’s colleges and universities to produce industrial hemp.

May 2018 - ​Kansas: State agriculture officials turn to public for input on new hemp production regulations

The Kansas Department of Agriculture plans to have its draft regulations on growing hemp in the state completed by July 1, and to start issue growing licenses in early 2019.

But in the interim Kansas officials are holding public meetings around the state, to get feedback from potential hemp growers there.

"Please don’t be frustrated if our answer is, 'We don’t know yet,’ because that’s part of why we’ve asked you to come so we can figure out what we need to figure out,” Chad Bontrager, Kansas Agribusiness Service director, said during a recent meeting.

According to KCRU radio, some farmers in Kansas are interested in hemp as an alternative to other crops: including corn, soy beans and wheat.​Click here to read the complete article

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Image Source: Kgwo1972 Via Wikimedia Commons

Canopy Growth to Invest Up to $500 Million in Hemp Production in U.S. States

The Canada-based cannabis company previously announced an investment of $100 million to $150 million to process and produce hemp in New York after securing a license from the state’s government officials in January.

It now plans to increase the total investment in U.S. hemp to up to $500 million by adding hemp production in two to three other states in the U.S., Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton told Yahoo Finance.

“We’ll do it state by state right now, because what has to happen is the state needs to regulate what is permissible for CBD,” Linton said. “So we'll probably have three or four states that have big populations and progressive leadership who want to have hemp become part of their actual job creation industrial platform.”

New analysis by a marketing research group suggests the hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) market could growing dramatically over the next several years and quickly outpace the market for legal marijuana.

According to a report from the Brightfield Group, the hemp-derived CBD market could reach $22 billion by 2022.Bethany Gomez, director of research for the Brightfield Group, told Rolling Stone magazine that hemp-CBD has moved out of specialty retail shops and into cosmetics, natural food products and health supplements.

“It’s being used for everything you can think of - sports, triathlons,” she said. “People want to buy it for their grandma, for arthritis. Women get it for PMS and endometriosis — common things that people have been using over the counter medications.”

Gomez acknowledged there are limits on the hemp-derived CBD market due to current federal prohibitions on cannabis. But those restrictions could change quickly, depending on whether Congress passes the 2018 Farm bill – which would legalize hemp cultivation nationally

September 11, 2018 - More US farmers planting industrial hemp as they prepare for federal legalization

As federal lawmakers consider the future of industrial hemp as a legitimate crop, a growing number of farmers are already planting hemp in anticipation of its full federal legalization as part of the 2018 Farm Bill.

More than 25,000 acres of hemp was reportedly harvested in the U.S. last year, or more than double the amount produced in 2016 – due in part to a federal measure that allows hemp to be grown for pilot and academic programs.

The rapidly-growing medical and health products market for cannabidiol (CBD) produced from hemp has helped to prompt this dramatic expansion.

According to MerryJane.com, some hemp cultivators are reporting revenue of around $90,000 per acre, compared to the $600 per acre a farmer might make from an acre of alfalfa.

August 7, 2018 - International Hemp Seeds Market Projected to Grow by 24% Annually between Now and 2025

Growing international demand for hemp seeds as a food product created a hemp seed market valued at $380 million last year, according to a recent report.

That report, from India-based Garner Insights, also projects the global hemp seeds market to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 24.0% percent between now and 2025 – with the market reaching $2.1 billion by the end of 2025.

China is reportedly the world’s largest supply of hemp seeds, with a production market share of nearly 30% in 2016.

August 1, 2018: Report: Global industrial hemp market size expected at $10.6 billion by 2025A recent report projects the international industrial hemp market will increase significantly over the next seven years, reaching $10.6 billion US by 2025.

According to the report by Grand View Research, Inc. the worldwide industrial hemp market is expected to expand at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 14 percent during that period.

Growing population numbers, rising disposable income and increasing calls for hemp products across a wide variety of sectors are expected to boost that demand.

The publication adds that in the North American market, industrial hemp is projected to see a volume-based CAGR of 17.6 percent. That increase is due in part to growing demand from the automotive industry for hemp-derived panels, to be manufactured as an alternative to fiberglass products

July 2, 2018 - Oversupply and foreign competition pushing down industrial hemp prices in Canada​Canada’s domination of the North American industrial hemp market is fading.

According the Saskatchewan-based website The Western Producer, Canadian farmers grew all the hempseed in North America as recently as 2013 – while Canadian processors sold hemp oil, protein and seed to U.S. customers and overseas markets.

But now overproduction in Western Canada, coupled with the growing numbers of U.S. farms cultivating hemp, has pressured hemp prices.

The website says conventional hemp prices fell 20 to 20 cents per pound in Canada this past spring, to around 50 to 55 cents per pound.

It also quotes Health Canada, the nation’s regulator of industrial hemp, which reports Canadian farmers planted 138,000 acres of hemp last year – up from 70,000 acres in 2015 and 100,000 acres in 2016.

Another factor: South Korea, a major purchaser of Canadian hemp seed and hemp products, is purchasing more hemp from China, which is selling its industrial hemp at lower prices.

June 2018 - Freedom Leaf Unveils Plans for Largest Indoor Hemp Nursery in Europe​Nevada-based Freedom Leaf, Inc. says it has acquired what it expects to become the largest indoor hemp nursery in Europe, if not worldwide.

According to Weed News the international company purchased a former poinsettia nursery, a 430,000-square-foot greenhouse complex, in Valencia, Spain for €4,100,000 ($4.75 million).

The article says Freedom Leaf is expecting 100,000 plants to be harvested in this first summer crop, with a yield of between 200 to 400 grams per plant. In Europe, hemp bud is reportedly selling for between €45 ($52.11 US) to €$450 ($521.00 US) per kilogram, depending on the product’s seed stock and strain.

“With this acquisition, Freedom Leaf intends to become the largest indoor hemp producer in Europe, where there is a booming market for CBD products,” Freedom Leaf co-founder and CEO Clifford Perry told Weed News.

June 2018 - Demand for industrial hemp on the rise in EuropeHundreds of individuals and representatives from 40 countries are expected to meet in Cologne, Germany on June 12-13, for the 15th annual International Conference of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA).

Europe has seen a revival of industrial hemp production and manufacturing since the early 1990s. According to EIHA, European hemp cultivation has picked up dramatically over the last seven years, from around 8,000 hectares (19,768 acres) in 2011 to 26,000 hectares (64,247 acres) in 2016 to about 43,000 (106,255 acres) hectares last year.

EIHA says the expansion of hemp cultivation in Europe is being driven mainly by “demand in the food sector,” as well as the relatively recent debut of cannabidiol (CBD) products in European markets.

“Here too demand is high,” the organization said, “but cannot be met sufficiently due to a patchwork of national regulations.”

May 2018 - Oversupply of marijuana prompts many Oregon pot growers to switch to hemp

As reported by Cannabis Benchmarks, the U.S. Cannabis Spot Index fell by 2.8% for the week ending May 18th. And nowhere was that marijuana price decline larger than in Oregon – where the state’s spot index sank to an historic new low for the third straight week in a row.

Much of that drop in Oregon is being blamed on over-production by the state’s pot growers.

According to a report by the Associated Press, Oregon’s inventory for legal marijuana is reportedly near 450,000 kilograms (one million pounds) of usable flower, with another 159,000 kilograms (350,000 pounds) of marijuana extracts, edibles and tinctures.

That glut of legal marijuana is also causing many legal pot growers in Oregon to switch over to hemp production.

The AP says applications in Oregon for licenses to grow hemp have jumped more than twenty-fold over the past three years, to the point where Oregon is now second in the nation (after Colorado) among the 19 states with active hemp cultivation.

Crawford said conventional hemp prices in Canada have dropped about 20 cents so far this year, to around 55 cents per pound. But organic hemp prices remain higher, he added, at around $1.80-$1.85 Canadian per pound.

And some producers say that even while prices have dropped, hemp farmers are still seeing profitability.​Click here to read the complete article